Fang Xu stopped listening when he heard that the two people in the corridor were gossiping. They were clearly clerks and had some free time to chat.

He continued to move around the investigation bureau, gathering information.

"Quick, go to the conference room, Director Wang is calling for an emergency meeting."

Upon hearing the news, Fang Xu immediately joined the crowd and followed them to the conference room.

The long table in the conference room was filled with people, both men and women, mostly young and dressed in unconventional outfits. It was worth noting that few of them wore black work uniforms; most had distinctive and colorful clothing, with a lot of personality.

Standing on both sides of the conference table were over ten workers wearing work uniforms.

Fang Xu blended in with the workers and stood against the wall, discreetly observing the people at the conference table.

Clearly, these people were spiritual masters. As the main force against the paranormal, their status was naturally higher than that of ordinary people, and they were qualified to attend the meeting.

Sitting at the head of the conference table was Wang Dehai, with a stern expression.

Oddly, there were two empty seats on either side of Wang Dehai; no one had taken them.

Two empty seats?

Fang Xu guessed that these two seats were probably for Captain Yang Ming and Vice Captain Bai Qi. Now that Bai Qi was dead, it was normal for his seat to be empty, but what about Yang Ming?

Was he still investigating the paranormal?

Just then, Fang Xu suddenly smelled a pungent odor of smoke.

Smoking during an emergency meeting?

Following the smoke, Fang Xu saw a despondent-looking man squatting in a corner behind Wang Dehai, smoking.

This man was about 27 or 28 years old, with thick eyebrows and big eyes, a wide face, and a broad nose. He wasn't particularly handsome, but he looked alert and upright.

However, his mental state was clearly not good at the moment. His eyes were lifeless, and his chin was covered in stubble. He stared blankly at the air in front of him, looking like a statue, except that he occasionally took a puff of smoke.

The other people in the meeting room selectively ignored the man, allowing him to squat and smoke there.

Upon seeing this, Fang Xu had already guessed what was going on.

Although the spiritualists present were dressed in eccentric clothing and had unique personalities, they still adhered to basic order during meetings and sat quietly in their seats.

The fact that nobody said anything about this man's behavior, not even Wang Dehai, could only mean that he held a high position.

Combining this with the vacant seat, it was easy to guess that the man smoking was Captain Yang Ming.

At this point, Wang Dehai began the meeting. During this emergency meeting, he did not waste time on pleasantries and got straight to the point.

"After investigation by our agents on site, we can confirm that Vice Captain Bai has passed away."

The room fell silent at Wang Dehai's somber words.

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Some people showed no expression, some were indifferent, and some looked mournful - the expressions varied.

The man who appeared to be Yang Ming remained hollow-eyed, but his hand holding the cigarette trembled slightly.

After a moment of silence, Wang Dehai's deep voice spoke up again.

"Vice Captain Bai was killed by a strange creature that controlled shadows."

As he spoke, a blurry photo appeared on the large screen in the room, showing a shadow, a humanoid shadow.

However, unlike an ordinary shadow, it was three-dimensional, like a person wearing a black bodysuit that covered their eyes, nose, and mouth.

Completely black, it looked like a shadow that had come to life and become a solid form.

"This strange creature is called Shadow Phantom, and its current ability is to hide in the shadows. When Vice Captain Bai was fighting against Head Phantom, Shadow Phantom emerged from his shadow and launched a surprise attack, causing Vice Captain Bai to be critically injured and ultimately killed by Head Phantom."

Everyone watched the Shadow Phantom in the photo with intense focus, their expressions solemn.

The sudden attack from within a shadow was almost impossible to defend against - even a small mistake could result in being hit.

"Even the strong Bai Qi was seriously injured in a surprise attack, and other spirit masters do not believe they can beat Bai Qi.

"Currently, the whereabouts of Ying Gui are unknown, but Ren Tou Gui has been resolved by Yang Ming. So, what we need to do next is to search for Ying Gui with all our efforts, find it, and completely resolve this strange event.

"And," Wang Dehai took a deep breath and said slowly and heavily, "avenge Bai Qi."

The atmosphere in the room instantly became solemn.

Perhaps sensing that the atmosphere was too heavy, Wang Dehai suddenly forced out a smile and said, "I have some good news to tell you all amidst this unfortunate event."

Good news?

Everyone was confused. Bai Vice-Captain was dead, and there was good news?

"That is, our captain of the Green Vine City Investigation Bureau, Yang Ming, has successfully advanced to a third-level spirit master after resolving the Ren Tou Gui event, entering the ranks of top spirit masters!"

As soon as this statement came out, the crowd was in an uproar, and everyone's gaze instantly focused on the man smoking in the corner.

The man smoking was Yang Ming, but he seemed not to have heard anything, his expression unchanged. He just tossed the cigarette butt in his hand and took out a new pack of cigarettes from his pocket, preparing to light one up.

There were already several blackened cigarette butts on the ground under his feet.

Yang Ming opened the cigarette pack in his hand and found it empty. He casually crumpled the pack and threw it on the ground, raising his eyes lazily to look at the crowd.

"Hey, anyone got a cigarette?"

His voice was hoarse and tinged with exhaustion.

Everyone remained silent, and no one responded.

Seeing this scene, Wang Dehai's eyes flashed with a hint of pity, but he still rebuked, "Yang Ming, pull yourself together. You are now a third-level spirit master. The safety of Green Vine City will still depend on you in the future. Also, don't you want to avenge Bai Qi?"

Faced with Wang Dehai's reprimand, Yang Ming's gaze remained unchanged. He slowly stood up from the wall and inserted his hands into his pockets, muttering, "Then I'll go out and buy some myself."

As he spoke, he really was about to leave the venue to buy cigarettes.

As he walked, he muttered under his breath, "Revenge? Will avenging Little Bai bring him back to life?"

"Stop right there!" Wang Dehai shouted in anger, but Yang Ming's footsteps didn't even slow down, as if he hadn't heard anything.

Frustrated, Wang Dehai reached into his pocket and pulled out a pack of cigarettes, shouting, "I have cigarettes here!"

Yang Ming immediately stopped in his tracks, looking displeased. "Why didn't you say so earlier?"

Wang Dehai threw the cigarettes to Yang Ming and turned back to continue the meeting, clearly not wanting to say anything more.

Yang Ming returned to the corner where he had been before, lighting a cigarette and grumbling, "Wow, what a family Wang is from, smoking every day."

Wang Dehai's face was full of black lines, and he gritted his teeth to continue the meeting.

But at that moment, the door of the conference room was pushed open with a loud bang.

Wang Dehai's anger erupted instantly. "Discipline! Discipline! How many times have I said it? You..."

The staff member who entered the room didn't give him a chance to finish, but instead said anxiously, "Something's wrong, Director Wang! The person you told me to take to the lounge earlier is missing! He knocked me out and ran away!"

"What!? You're saying Fang Xu ran away?" Wang Dehai was instantly shocked and angry.

Fang Xu, who was in the crowd, sighed secretly. His technique was still not professional enough. He hadn't expected to knock the guy out for such a short period of time.

Although Fang Xu had become a spirit master and could burst out more powerful energy than an ordinary person, he had never tried to knock someone out before and had no idea how much force to use.

"Fang Xu! You're here!" A woman's voice rang out from the conference hall.

It was Shen Lingxue.

Shen Lingxue suddenly stood up from her seat, looking surprised as she pointed at Fang Xu in the crowd.

At that moment, all eyes in the room were focused on Fang Xu, except for Yang Ming, who was still smoking and staring into space.